Knowledge
by BrooklynRager
Summary: The recorded history of Professor Zei and his years in the Library of Wan Shi Tong.
1. Age 40, Year 0

_The following documents are believed to be the records of Professor Zei, former head of Anthropology at Ba Sing Sei University, during his years in Wan Shi Tong's Library. This information has not been confirmed. The title given to these documents was merely the word written on the cover. Recovered by archeologists and sand-benders in the year 78 ASC (After Sozin's Comet), archived in the United Republic Hall of Records._

**Knowledge**

**Age 40, Year 0**

I'm still alive. I don't know how, but it's true. It's as true as the ink in which I write these words with, or the paper in which I write on. I should be dead. The library sank, buried in mountains of sand. I should have been killed. Yet, this place still stands, along with me and all else in it. That's not what really surprises me. That's not what should have killed me. _He_ should have killed me.

I searched for this place for years, trekking out into the sands of that hellish desert, time and time again. Never successful, never coming close. It was all I ever wanted, yet all I could never achieve. Why should so much knowledge be so hard to find? If He brought it here for the benefit of us mortals, why make it impossible for us to reach? Well, guess it makes sense now. It was a test. One must prove their worth for knowledge.

This day was different. I met someone. If anyone could have helped me find this place, it was him. He was easy enough to spot. My years of anthropological studies made him recognizable on first sight. I had to talk to him. I had to tell him of my quest.

He was greatly receptive, as were his friends. In fact, his one friend was the one who seemed to convince the others to help me, proclaiming it "his vacation". I had no idea what he meant, but I didn't care. They were going to help.

It was unbelievable. Not only did this boy exist, but with him was a creature of his own home, a sky bison. I rode on it. Flight is never truly appreciated until you have experienced it. I doubt I will ever have the chance again, much less see the sky again. We spent hours looking, delving into parts of the desert I had never reached before. That's when it was spotted. The spire of the great Library.

My heart soared with the great bison I rode on. I had found it! What I had dreamed of most of my life, here it was, right before my eyes! It may have just been the spire, but that alone was enough. I knew what waited inside.

We ascended the spire and reached inside safely, and my dreams were achieved in ways I never thought possible. Books, scrolls, texts, tomes, writings, scriptures, everything there was to know, all in one place. I could barely contain my excitement. Before we could go anywhere, though, we met Him for the first time.

I had heard of the Great Knowledge Spirit many times, but I never imagined him like this. He was definitely wise, you could tell just by looking at him. The way his dark eyes pierced you told you great many things. He was awesome, and yet, incredibly terrifying. I wasn't sure if it was the wicked beak, or just his sheer size, but something told me that upsetting him was not desirable.

We all had to give something to Him to gain access to the Library. I gave one of my own books. It would not matter if I got it back. What I could learn from this place would fill a great many more books. He warned us not to use what we learned for nefarious means. I had no worry, and I trusted my companions, so I thought nothing of it.

As quickly as He arrived, He was gone. I was free, free to learn what I wanted. Knowledge was everywhere, and it was all at my fingertips. I spent no more time standing around. I dove for the nearest shelf and began delving into the vast amounts of wisdom it's writings could give me.

I must have spent hours reading. I could not be sure, time flew by, but it was all over too quickly. All I knew was that someone had not heeded His warning. That was the only explanation I was given. All I knew was that the Library was going down. The place shook, and sand came pouring through various openings, piling up quickly around me. I ran, trying to find where we had come in.

I eventually found the others, as the scrambled to escape up the rope that was our entrance and exit. I then saw Him again, only he was much worse. He had grown, and his whole body was over taken by anger. He was chasing them down, those who had offended his pride. He would have killed, I knew for sure, if they hadn't shaken him off at the last minute.

The boy, the impossible child who got me here, reached out to me, trying to help escape with them. How could I go with them? I had found my dream, and all I wanted was here. How could I let this place go? I turned him down, and went back to the books, reading what I could. This place was going down, with me in it, and I was taking whatever knowledge I could with me.

I waited. I waited a very long time. The Library kept sinking, kept going down. More sand poured in. It would be over soon. I would be lost with all this knowledge. That's when it stopped. The ground stopped shaking, the sand stopped coming. We had stopped.

I looked up from the book I was in. Great piles of sand were everywhere, many bookcases and shelves buried beneath their weight. There was barely any light, except from the few torches that still flickered. I stood and walked toward the rope that still dangled in the center of it. Looking up, I saw nothing. No light, no windows, nothing at all. I am completely submerged beneath the desert sands.

"You stayed here. You must be some sort of fool."

I had not heard Him approach. He was just there before me, still as powerful and menacing as before. His body was rigid, anger still gripping him. He leaned forward, his beak reaching down for my head. I felt his great strength around me, and I shook, my whole body wanting to collapse, yet not being able to.

"Please! Don't kill me!"

I did not think it would save me, but I had to try. For what felt like hours, he stood over me, able to kill me in an instant, but remaining motionless. Them, after what must have been forever, he moved back and looked through me with the ebony eyes of his.

"Tell me. Why should I not kill you? What makes you special?"

It was then that my knees gave out. I feel, and my head went down with it. My whole body was shaking, fear was all I knew.

"P-p-please! All I've wanted my whole life is knowledge. To learn what there was to know, and for no other reason than for that. Your library was my chance to achieve that. I have nothing else, and want nothing else. Just, give me a chance!"

Time must not work properly in this place, as time stood still once more as he stared at me. I did not move, my shaking slowly creeping away. Was he doing this, calming me somehow to make it less painful?

"I suppose you can do no more harm, being trapped in here."

I nearly swallowed my tongue. I still barely believe it now, writing it all down. I looked up at him, meeting his steely gaze. His face never betrays anything, but I could almost swear there was a twinkle in those eyes, some sort of spark.

"I will need help cleaning up all this sand. My knowledge seekers aren't very useful, not having fingers and all. You shall live."

He turned his back on me, slowly gliding his way across the floor. I thanked him for his mercy. He turned once more, and the hatred had locked itself behind the glare he gave me now.

"Do not mistake me, mortal. I keep you alive out of necessity, not kindness. If you do not keep your end of the bargain, if you dissatisfy me, if you so much as think of do anything against my wishes, I will kill you that instant."

He was gone once more. I'm on my own now. I have not seen or heard him in some time. I do not expect to live past the night. I do not even know when night is anymore. I will not last long. He will come back to kill me. He will change his mind, and come back. It won't be long. I leave this only so people will know the truth. I will be dead soon.


	2. Age 40, Year 0, Day 1

**Age 40, Year 0, Day 1**

I was quite shocked this morning. I am still alive. Even now, hours later, at what I assume is nightfall, I still breath the stale air of this prison. He had not killed, at no point today did he try, though it did not seem like it did not cross his mind once or twice.

It was a noise that awoke me, a faint sound, a clicking noise. I opened my eyes, the confines of the lower part of a shelving unit coming into focus. It came again, and my blood ran cold. It had to be Him. He was going to finish the job now. He had changed his mind while I slept and was coming to kill me now.

I was almost too afraid to turn and look. The noise was coming closer; the cavernous walls bounced it all over the place, making it impossible to determine exactly where it came from. I slowly sat up. Just as I did, the noise stopped, and I could sense something in the room with me. Every fibre of my being told me to run, to flee whatever it was. I took a deep breath. If I was to die today, I was going to face my end.

I turned to find not Him behind me, but one of his companions, a knowledge seeker, sitting there, panting away. I released the air I hadn't even realized I was holding. He had not come. Not yet. Had He sent this creature to finish me off, then? I'm not so sure that was much comfort.

The small creature looked at me, then behind him, back the way he had come. He stood and came towards me. He nipped at the edge of my pant leg, pulling slightly at it. He gave a small yip as he turned back, looking over his shoulder at me. Did he want me to follow? I rose to my feet, still a little shaky, and walked behind the creature.

The seeker took me down many winding passages and bookshelves, great monoliths of written word. Many were knocked over, others in various states of submersion, the sands of the desert above burying them deep. We walked for what seemed like hours, the seeker only stopping long enough to wait up for me, his pace being quicker than my own.

At last, he came to a great set of wooden doors. Across these doors was carved the symbols of the four great nations: Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. Dividing these were two swords, crossed in "X" shape. The knowledge seeker, walked up to the doors. He placed one front paw on the door, pushing the door open just the slightest crack. The seeker sat down, facing me, and gave a small yip once again. He wanted me to go in.

Hesitantly, I stepped up to the great doors, and placed my hand gently on the aged wood. I glanced down at the seeker, but if he knew what lay beyond, he gave no indication. I pushed the heavy door inward, and stepped through.

What awaited me was a cavernous room, so large that I could see no end, nor any ceiling above. Massive shelves stood sentinel to either side of me, and seemed to continue to the point of oblivion. Through the center of these were tables. Upon further inspection, I determined they were dioramas. Great fields, mountain tops, oceans, all displayed in miniature form and each with small figures placed strategically all over them.

"Pathetic, isn't it? Centuries have some by, yet still this room is constantly filled with the treacheries of your kind."

He was before once again, never making a sound, his vacuum-like eyes already look through me. For the second time this day, my blood ran cold. Before I died, I had to know.

"What is this place?"

He stared down at me, and then turned his eyes to the room around him.

"This is my war room. A collection of battles, strategies, and schemes. Records of who won, and others who were not so lucky. Somehow, this is the room in my whole library that went untouched when I brought it down. Ironic, really."

He turned again, and his face held something in it, I could not tell what.

"I need some assistance from you. When we last spoke, I said as much. If you wish to continue living, you will help repair and clean my library. You will move all the sand from the other parts of the library into this room. I feel I should no longer keep, as all it does is remind me of why I despise your kind."

My mouth dropped almost immediately. "But how? Your library is great, and I am but one person."

He turned on my, his great form towering over me. I could smell his feathers, he was that close. He smelled of dust and aged paper, the smell of books.

"Be grateful I let you live at all. I could kill you now, if I so pleased. It would be no trouble, if that is what you wish."

I stumbled backward, trying to escape his gaze. I fell to the floor in the attempt.

He turned away from me finally, a small chuckle making it through his throat. "I see you do wish to live. Who knows? The work may very well kill you, anyway. Back outside the doors, my knowledge seeker has provided you with tools for your work. You will start immediately."

When I looked back, He was gone once more. I shuddered to think of how he did it so silently, and how well that worked to his advantage.

As He said, outside the door, resting on the nearest pile of sand was a wheelbarrow. Resting inside it was a small shovel, a pair of gloves, and a canteen. I picked up the canteen, and upon inspection, found it was full of water. No traces of poison, either, as far as I could tell.

I looked around. Mountains of sand stood everywhere, each seeming more daunting than the next. I looked at the one right in front of me. I took a deep breath, put the gloves on, grabbed the shovel, and set to work.

I dug into the pile for hours, filling the wheelbarrow, taking it into the war room as far as I dared, and dumping it. It was back-breaking work for sure, and all the sand dried my throat out faster than if I was working on dirt. I drank from my canteen as sparingly as I could. I tried to time it out, aiming for every hour, though there was no way to tell.

Eons later, the pile was gone from near the door, and now rested inside the great room. I took of the gloves, and saw that I had great blisters on each palms, and a few on my fingers. Being very careful, I used some water to help cool the pain. The rest I drank. As I drank this final dreg, He returned. I averted my eyes as he surveyed my work.

He looked down on me, his moon-like face never giving anything away.

"I suppose this will do for now. You will for today. You will find some food in the space where you slept last. As a small token for today, I will allow you to read one book from my collection. You may as well enjoy something before you die. You will resume your work tomorrow."

He turned to leave, but I called after Him. "Sir! How will I work? My hands are damaged!"

When He turned, I turned my palms toward him. "My work today has garnered me with blisters."

He looked at me with disinterest and simply said. "What blisters?"

I was puzzled, to be sure. I turned my hands, and found nothing there. The blisters were gone. My skin was completely smooth once more. Had I imagined it? Or had He done something? I could not be sure, and he was gone before I could say anything.

I managed to find my way back to my resting place, and as He had said, a plate of food, and a cup of water stood there waiting for me. The plate yielded some fresh vegetables and a cold leg of chicken-pig. I scarfed it all down, not realizing until now just how hungry I had been.

As I finished it off, I looked at the shelves around me, deciding on my "final reading". I ended up on choosing _The Beasts and Animals of the Fire Nation Colonies_. I only stopped reading long enough to record the events of today. I shall finish it shortly, and then rest is in order. If I am to stay alive any longer, I must keep up my strength to do the work He requires.


End file.
